


Holding On

by dont_hate_me01



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS AU - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Hurt Anthony DiNozzo, Hurt Steve McGarrett, Language, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28982529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: Steve closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were filled with tears. “His name is Anthony Paddinton-Dinozzo. He’s my husband. He was KIA six years ago in Afghanistan.” A single tear rolled down his cheek as Danny pulled his best friend to his chest and let him weep.
Relationships: Junior Reigns/Tani Rey, Steve McGarrett/Anthony DiNozzo
Kudos: 214
Collections: Every Fandom Reverse Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IDreamofAvalon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDreamofAvalon/gifts).



> **AN 1:** To the magnificent, [IDreamofAvalon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDreamofAvalon/pseuds/IDreamofAvalon) who submitted a piece of art that made me moan with pleasure. I knew I had to get it, and I admit that when I got the email to say the piece of art was mine, I screamed! Please go and leave her some love and Kudos over [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992768).
> 
> [IDreamofAvalon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDreamofAvalon/pseuds/IDreamofAvalon) also went beyond her role as an artist, and became my beta reader. An extra set of hugs to her for doing such an amazing job in getting this story into shape. Thank you!
> 
>  **AN 2:** To the mods over at [Every Fandom Reverse Bang](https://everyfandombangs.wordpress.com/reverse-bang/), thank you again for hosting this challenge. It was such a pleasure in taking part in this challenge. I can’t wait to do it again!
> 
> **AN 3:** Lastly, please note that this is an NCIS AU story. Tony DiNozzo never worked at NCIS. No other NCIS character appears or is mentioned in this piece of fiction.

[ ](https://imgur.com/Ve85pl0)

Danny stepped off the elevator and glared at his partner and best friend.

“I said I was sorry, and technically it wasn’t my fault.” Steve spoke as they made their way deeper into the offices.

“Technically it wasn’t your fault?” Danny threw his arms up in the air. “You baited the suspect until he snapped and he threw paint cans at us. Paint cans, I might add, that burst open and left me like this!”

“I didn’t know he was going to start throwing paint cans around, Danny.”

“He was standing right there with all the cans surrounding him. He had a can in his hand, Steve! But you had to bait him. Now I look like a freaking Leprechaun!”

Steve managed to keep a straight face. “The color suits you, and since you didn’t know what to wear for Halloween, you now only need a top hat and a walking stick and you’re all dressed up.”

“Are you serious, Steve! Halloween is in three weeks! And I can promise you, I didn’t want to dress up as a fucking Leprechaun!”

“See it as a test run, Danno.” Steve grinned and moved to his office. He couldn’t wait to hear what the team would say about Danny’s new look. As he reached the glass door to his office, his phone chimed in his pocket. The grin disappeared from his face as he turned to face Danny.

“Is that the alarm at your house?” Danny asked as he jogged closer.

“Yeah, Junior and Adam finally got it fitted last night.” Steve called up the camera footage that streamed live from his house. He had the motion cameras installed after two weeks of someone coming into his house. Nothing was taken but certain things were moved. Not big things but small things like a lopsided change holder Grace made for him as a birthday gift a few years back.

“Want me to send out a unit?” Danny reached for his own phone.

“Let's just get a visual on this guy for a description.” Steve stared at the small screen. What felt like hours but was only mere seconds, a figure finally came into view. Steve gasped.

“I don’t think this guy is the one coming into your house for the past weeks, Steve.” Danny swallowed. “That’s a lot of blood.” When his friend remained quiet, Danny looked up. Steve’s face had turned ash grey. “Steve? You okay?” Danny touched Steve’s arm to get his attention.

“What?” Steve sounded dazed.

“Are you okay? Do you know this man?” Danny looked from his friend back to the man on the screen. He cringed as the man collapsed. His hand pressed hard against his abdomen as blood seeped through his fingers.

Steve appeared to refocus on the screen. He lifted his head. “Send for a bus, he needs medical attention.” With the phone still gripped in his hand he ran towards the elevator. “Tell them to hurry the fuck up!”

“I don’t think he’s going to need an ambulance, he looked pretty dead to me.” Danny rushed up to join Steve at the elevator. He didn’t expect to be physically picked up from the floor and slammed into the wall.

“Don’t you dare say that, Danny! Don’t you dare for one fucking minute say that!”

Danny hissed as his body connected the hard wall. Steve’s eyes had a feral look in them. He had never seen his partner so unhinged before. “Do you know the guy, Steve?”

Steve nodded slowly as he let go of Danny. His legs felt weak and he found himself crumbling to the floor.

“Steve?” Danny’s concerned voice sounded in his ears. “Who is this man, how do you know him?”

Steve closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were filled with tears. “His name is Anthony Paddinton-Dinozzo. He’s my husband. He was KIA six years ago in Afghanistan.” A single tear rolled down his cheek as Danny pulled his best friend to his chest and let him weep.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Danny watched as Steve continued to pace the waiting room. They have been at the hospital for three hours and have not received any word on Anthony’s condition. He was still shocked to hear that his best friend was married. The fact that it was to a man, didn’t faze him at all. What shocked him more, was the fact that Steve’s dead husband was alive. He can’t even begin to imagine what Steve must be feeling right now. Movement to his left made him look up. Danny rose to his feet and approached Adam.

“Any news?” Adam inquired as he watched Steve pacing.

Danny shook his head. “What did you find out at the house?”

“Not much. We know he got in through the back door. We searched the area, found no sign of a vehicle. We did find several sets of footprints, almost looking like a stomping ground. We also managed to retrieve shell casings. Looks to be nine-millimeter and .38 special. I’ve sent it to ballistics. Some of the prints lead towards Steve’s house. The others go deeper into the plantations. We’ve got a team searching the area, but the chance of them finding anything is slim.”

Danny nodded. The plantations merged with the woods. The undergrowth was thick and looking for any footprints there would be like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. “What about tire tracks?”

“Nothing.”

“Check CCTV cameras in the area, canvas the area, talk to the neighbors. Someone had to have seen something. Whoever is responsible for this attack didn’t disappear into thin air and I’m not seeing anyone hoofing their way out of that jungle. It would take time and a lot of effort. Somehow I don’t see them having time to take a stroll through the woods after they’d shot a man.”

“We’re on it, Danny. Tani contacted Gerard and asked him to clean the place. She will remain on scene to make sure he doesn’t take anything.”

“Thanks. I didn’t even think about getting someone to clean up.” Danny looked down at his hands. His skin was still Leprechaun green from earlier. But now, his hands were tinted red. Red from Steve’s husband's blood where he’d tried to stop the bleeding. The scene that greeted them would haunt his dreams for years. After Steve’s mini meltdown his partner had pulled himself together and they had done some low flying to get to Steve’s house. They had arrived mere minutes before the first police units and ambulance.

They had entered Steve’s home with their weapons drawn. Danny knew it had taken all of Steve’s willpower to first clear the house before he could attend to the fallen man. Never before had Danny seen Steve so at a loss. His friend had slid to his knees next to the fallen man but hadn’t touched him. Danny was the one who felt for a pulse and then turned him over. Steve’s husband (still felt weird to think about it) had been shot multiple times. There was a through and through on the right shoulder. He had what appeared to be a deep grazing line on the side of his left temple. More worrisome was the two gunshot wounds to the abdomen. One was more to the left side and also a through and through. The second one was in the middle of his abdomen a bit to the right and had no exit wound. When he’d pressed down on the wound Anthony’s abdomen felt swollen and he had a feeling the man was bleeding internally as well. The only positive thing was that he was breathing. Very shallow and fast but Danny took that as a won. Never in his life had he been more grateful for the EMTs to take over. Steve had taken his husband’s hand in his and didn’t want to let him go. He followed the ambulance while Steve rode with them. The only time Steve let go of that hand was when they wheeled him into the trauma bay and Steve was not allowed in. It had taken him and Lou to get Steve to let go. And since then, the only thing his friend has done was to pace. It was only after they’d reached the hospital that he had a chance to tell the team who the man was. Their reactions went from shocked to surprise to anger. The anger he knew was directed at whoever tried to kill Steve’s husband. The fact that none of them even knew the man existed (or believed to be dead before that moment) didn’t matter. What mattered was that someone tried to kill Steve’s husband. They would find the persons responsible and only then will they ask questions. That is how they worked.

“I’m heading back to the office. Both Tani and Junior are still canvassing the area. Will you keep us up to date?”

“I will.” Danny nodded. He continued to watch Steve pace. When the whiff of coffee reached his nose, he turned his head and groaned when Lou stepped into the room. “Please tell me one of those is for me?”

Lou nodded and handed the large cup to Danny. He placed the cup holder with another two cups down on a small table and handed Danny a backpack. “Got a uniform to bring clean clothes for you and Steve.”

“Thanks, Lou.” Danny took the bag and placed it at his feet. He then took a long drink from the golden liquid the captain brought for them.

“The fact that he’s still pacing tells me you’ve received no update as yet?”

Danny shook his head. “I don’t know how long he’s going to be able to keep this up, Lou. More than that, I’m scared that they might come through that door and tell Steve that Anthony didn’t make it.”

“Mmm.” Lou looked at Steve and then at Danny. “Did you know?”

“No. The first word I heard of it was when he IDed the man bleeding out on his living room floor as his husband.”

“You never suspected?”

“No.” Danny lifted his gaze to take a proper look at the large man that stood before him. “You got a problem with Steve being married to a man?”

Lou lifted his hands in surrender. “No. The only problem that I have is that we didn’t know. That he didn’t tell us.”

“He must’ve had his reasons for not telling us,” Danny replied. He took another swallow of his coffee and then placed the cup down. “I’m going to get him to clean up, will you stay here and come and get us if there’s any word?”

“Sure, no problem,” Lou reassured Danny. He took his seat on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and watched as Danny approached his friend. He couldn’t hear the conversation between the two men but his heart ached for Steve when Danny reached up and pulled their foreheads together. He saw Danny lips moving and Steve nodding his head and then the two men broke apart. Danny kept his arm on Steve’s shoulder as the two men left the tiny waiting room and made their way to the nearest restroom to tidy up.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

It took all that Steve had in not to collapse to his knees as he stood with his head bowed beneath the steaming water. He had no idea how Danny pulled it off, but his friend had arranged for the two of them to use the nursing staff’s bathroom where they could both take a hot shower before changing into clean clothes. He kept the shower short and then stepped out to get dressed. Steve sat down and stared at the row of lockers in front of him.

In so many ways Danny reminded him of Tony. Both men had a unique sense of humor, a stubborn streak as wide as the Milky Way, and were loyal to a fault. Steve’s thoughts drifted to the first time he’d met Tony, but he pushed the memory away. He couldn’t deal with that. Not now. He had to find out who tried to kill Tony. More importantly he had to find out why Tony kept it from him that he was alive. For six years he thought that the man he loved more than life itself was dead. Killed when an IED exploded. He should’ve known something was up when they didn’t want him to ID Tony’s remains. But on the other hand, he’d seen what was left of the Humvee after it drove over the IED. None of the bodies recovered could be visually identified. Instead, DNA was used to establish identity. Tony’s empty coffin was flown back to England and laid to rest on his maternal family’s, the Paddingtons estate. Steve did not attend the funeral.

Steve was pulled out of his memories when the door to the bathroom banged open and Lou stormed in. “The surgeon is back. She’s waiting for you.” Steve tossed his socks to the side, left his boots lying there and ran out of the restroom. He was aware of both Lou and Danny on his heels but he didn’t slow down and wait for them. He couldn’t.

Steve reached the waiting room within seconds and burst through the door. “Doctor?” He approached the small woman as he wrung his hands. He pushed them into his pockets only to take them out again and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you family of Mr. Paddington-DiNozzo?”

“Yes, I’m – he’s my husband,” Steve responded shakily.

Doctor Melia could see how stressed the man was in front of her. “My name is Doctor Melia and let me start by saying he’s alive.” She never would let a family member wonder about the status of a patient but always started by telling them they were alive. It worked in this instance as all the tension disappeared from his body and he even managed to take a good breath. She looked on as the Captain and a blond man entered the room.

“Steve?” The blond spoke up as he reached his friend and placed his hand on his shoulder. She watched as the man called Steve took a deep breath and gave a small smile.

“He’s alive, Danno.”

Doctor Melia looked on as the blond hugged the bigger man hard before he broke contact. He gave her a bright smile. “Sorry, Doctor. That’s just wonderful news you gave us.” He reached out with his hand. “I’m Detective Danny Williams and this is Commander Steve McGarrett.”

The names sounded familiar to the doctor. “From the Hawaii Five-O task force?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Doctor Melia nodded. Her daughter and granddaughter were held up in a bank robbery and she knew her daughter praised the actions of the task force as they managed to get all of the hostages to safety and got the suspects to surrender without anyone being injured or killed. “You deliver a great service to the community.”

“Thank you.” It was Captain Grover who spoke up.

“Now, let’s sit down and I’ll tell you about Mr. Paddington-DiNozzo’s injuries and his prospect of recovery.”

“Tony, he prefers to be called Tony,” Steve spoke up softly.

“Tony.” She smiled. “Let me start by saying that Tony is not out of the woods as yet. He is indeed very lucky to be alive and we’re doing everything in our power to keep him that way. He is in a critical condition and is currently in ICU. He’s in a coma and although it sounds bad, at this stage, his body is resting, and while he’s resting, he’s healing from his injuries.” Doctor Melia explained all of Tony’s injuries to them. The graze to his temple required sutures and the MRI they did showed no brain swelling or bleeding. The bullet to his shoulder did a bit of damage to the rotator cuff and he’ll need some extensive physical therapy if he wants to regain full usage of his arm. The abdomen wound on the left caused damage to his spleen and that had to be removed. The center mass wound had caused damage to Tony’s right kidney, right lung and his liver. We repaired the damage to the lung and the kidney. A small portion of Tony’s liver had been removed as it was damaged beyond repair. The trajectory of the bullet also caused damage to his ribs but they would heal with time.

“He’s going to be in ICU for at least another seventy-two hours if not longer. He will not walk out of this hospital in less than three weeks. But I, we, will do everything in our power to see that he does leave this hospital on the mend.”

Steve’s shoulders sagged at the news. Tears of relief streamed down his face and he was grateful when Danny pulled him close and hugged him hard. He knew he didn’t need to be strong; Danny was there for him. He knew the team was there for him as well. He owed them a huge explanation but that had to wait. For now, he had to see Tony. Steven wiped his face. He smiled at the Doctor. “Thank you for everything you’ve done so far.”

The doctor nodded. “As long as you remember he’s got a long and hard road ahead of him.”

“We won’t forget.” Steve licked his lips. “Can I see him, please?”

“Sure. I’ll walk you up myself. You can only stay a few minutes. He needs his rest.” When she saw that the man wanted to object, she quickly spoke up. “But I will make sure the nursing staff lets you visit him five minutes every hour. That’s the best I can do.”

“Mahalo, Doctor,” Steve replied. He would take whatever time he could get. Five minutes an hour was more than nothing at all. He still couldn’t believe that Tony was alive. For all of these years. He had so many questions. When the doctor came to a halt Steve stopped right behind her. Through a large glass window, he could make out Tony’s still figure. His breath hitched. “Tony.”

Doctor Melia guided the larger man into the room and made him sit down on the chair next to the bed. She took it upon herself to describe each piece of equipment to him and what their functions were. She then squeezed his shoulder in silent support and left him as he reached out and took Tony’s hand in his.


	2. Chapter 2

**Helmand Province: 8 years ago**

“Did you hear, Chief, there’s a Brit here who’s got bigger balls than you? He drove a Humvee into a Taliban controlled village and rescued a missionary couple an hour before they were scheduled for execution.” Senior Chief Thompson grinned as he retold the story to his unit leader.

Steve looked up from where he threw down his vest and gear. “Doesn’t sound to me like he’s got bigger balls, Thompson. He only sounds stupid.”

The guys all snickered. They also knew that their Master Chief would’ve done the exact same thing. The only reason he hadn’t was because they were out on a two-week mission from which they only just returned.

A knock on their team room door made them stop and stare. No one dared to disturb them, or enter their quarters for at least three hours after they returned. It was a time the team used not only to debrief but just to throw off some of the nastiness they’d experienced on their mission before they stepped back into the real world, or what could be seen as the real world in this godforsaken country.

For a moment, Steve considered ignoring the knock, but it sounded again and by the sound of it, the person wasn’t going to stop. “Enter!”

The door opened and a baby-faced petty officer stuck his head in. “Master Chief McGarrett?” He looked around.

“Yes, Petty Officer?” Steve sat down on a lopsided couch to remove his boots.

“Colonel Brand wants you ASAP, Sir.” He didn’t wait for a reply but disappeared quickly.

Steve groaned and swore as he attempted to redress his boots. He hated appearing in front of the brass. Especially since this was a Marine operated base and their SEAL unit was just here for selected missions.

“What did you do now?” Thompson asked as he tossed his own boots to the side.

Steve shrugged. He rose to his feet and fist bumped his teammates as he made his way to the door.

“Didn’t Commander White say if you fuck up again, you’re on your own?” Thompson grinned.

“Fuck, Thompson! When the hell do you think I got the time to fuck up anything? I was stuck in the same hell hole as you.” He slapped his friend on the upside the head before he exited the room. The midday heat slammed into him and he took a deep breath. He had no idea why the base commander wanted to see him, but it couldn’t be good.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Steve let out a sigh of relief as he entered the Colonel’s office and found his own commanding officer waiting for him. “Commander,” Steve greeted, as he took his place next to the other SEAL.

Lieutenant Commander Joe White nodded. He took a good look at the young SEAL next to him. The team had a rough few weeks in the field, but in the end it was a successful mission.

“It wasn’t me,” Steve said as he saw how his Commander checked him out.

Joe smiled and nodded. “I know.”

“Good.” Steve looked around the small outer office. “Do you know why we’re here, Sir?”

Joe nodded again. He knew Steve wasn’t going to like it, but he agreed with the plan and Steve was the best man for it. Raised voices from inside the Colonel’s office pulled him out of his thoughts. He indicated to the close door.

Steve groaned. “Does this involve a crazy Brit?”

Joe had no time to respond as the inner office door got yanked open. “I didn’t inform you, Colonel, nor did I ask your permission, because it’s got nothing to do with this base, or with the US. I did what I had to do and that’s the end. Period.”

The man turned and Steve moaned. Not only where they were almost of the same height, but he had had dark blond, almost brown hair, hazel green eyes, and a set of lips that begged to be kissed. In short, he was stunning. Steve felt himself stir in his pants and he willed his eager cock to calm down. He could only watch as the man glared at him before he moved out of the office. The outer door slammed shut as he exited the building.

“Commander White, Chief McGarrett!”

Steve stepped in behind the officer and entered the room. He stood at attention as he took in the office. It’s not the first time he found himself in this office, but Colonel Brand always had the most interesting knick-knacks on his desk. Today there was a weird looking tortoise, slash dinosaur on the end. It shimmered in the light and he wanted nothing more than to pick it up and have a closer look. Steve’s attention is brought back when the Colonel spoke up.

“This is Harry Langford, British intelligence.” The colonel made the introductions before he took his seat behind the desk and offered them seats.

“You’re a long way from home,” Steve remarked.

“And much closer than you guys,” Harry responded.

Steve smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Did you tell him, Joe?” Colonel Brand asked.

“Didn’t have the time, Sir.” He grinned when he saw the look on Steve’s face.

Steve groaned. “Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

“You’re going to love it. From what I’ve read about you, this would be right up your alley.” Harry smiled cheekily.

Steve glared at the three men. “I’m not babysitting any British ass.”

Harry laughed. “He’s got dual citizenship, if that makes things easier.”

“Wait, let me rephrase that. I’m not babysitting anyone’s ass.” Steve had no idea what was going on, but he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it.

“That’s unfortunately not up to you, Chief.” Colonel Brand sighed. “I can promise you; I’ve objected to this myself, but the order came from the top and you know, we follow orders.”

For a second Steve closed his eyes. When he opened them, he nodded, “What do I have to do?”

“Keep Tony alive, and bring him back safely,” Harry stated before launching into a detailed explanation of what the mission entailed.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Tony became aware of the man next to him as he turned the corner to start another lap of the base perimeter. He didn’t acknowledge him, instead he increased his speed, hoping that he would get the message and leave. It didn’t work. The man kept pace with him the whole time. He stayed with him until he took his last step and came to a halt. Tony rested his arms on his knees as he took deep breaths of air.

“I’m going alone,” Tony spoke up when he had his breathing under control.

“Me too.”

Of all the answers he expected to receive, that one wasn’t one of them. Tony frowned at the stubborn man beside him. “Where are you going?”

Steve grinned. “Classified.”

Tony rolled his eyes. He should’ve known that would be the answer he would receive. He knew the man across him, or more accurately, he knew about him.

Steve McGarrett was the son of a decorated Naval officer on the one hand, and a covert CIA operative on the other.

He wondered if McGarrett knew what his mother did for a living. Tony mentally shook himself. It had nothing to do with him if the SEAL knew what his mother did or not. He put the man and his mother out of his mind as he turned his thoughts toward his upcoming mission. He was so caught up in his planning, that he completely missed the way Steve’s gaze lingered on him as he walked past.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Tony groaned when he reached the meeting point and found the SEAL leaning against an old beat-up Toyota. “You don’t belong here.”

Steve nodded. “Correct.”

“Then leave.”

Steve shook his head. “Can’t.”

“Why the bloody hell not?”

Steve grinned.

“Something funny?”

“You said bloody hell.” Steve chuckled before moving away from the vehicle and stared out into the barren landscape.

“Yeah, sorry. Let me change it to something you’d understand.” Tony stepped up next to Steve. “Why the fuck not?”

“Better, much better.” Steve grinned. “And the reason - I’m following orders.”

He turned and faced the man next to him. “I know you don’t want me here, and I don’t want to be here but that’s not going to happen. So suck it up, Sunshine and get over it.”

He grabbed the backpack from Tony’s shoulder and groaned when he found himself flat on his back. His body ached from the unexpected hard takedown and he blinked to get the dust out of his eyes. Steve looked up at the man who stood above him.

“I relieve you of your orders. Now leave.” Tony swung the bag to his other shoulder and walked to the car.

Steve grinned. He loved a challenge. He got to his feet and dusted himself off. “Nice move.”

Tony hummed as he reached for the door handle and yanked the door open. He tossed the bag into the back and shut the door. As he turned to get into the car, a body slammed into his and he found himself pinned to the side of the car. Anger flashed in his eyes as he leaned slightly forward to shift his weight, but before he could execute the move, his body got turned again and he was shoved face first against the body of the car with his arms pinned behind his back.

“You’re not the only one who’s got some moves,” Steve said in his ear. “As for relieving me of my duty, unless you're the Commander and Chief then you can’t do that. You're stuck with me.”

“Get off me.” Tony vibrated with anger.

“No. Not until you stop being a brat, accept the fact that I’m going with you, and get in the car so that we can get going.”

For a long time, Tony remained silent while Steve pinned him against the car. He knew the man was right, he had to get moving because he was on a timeline. Arguing with the SEAL took time he didn’t have. He also knew he would get the opportunity to get rid of the American soon enough. “Fine. You can come with.”

“See, that wasn’t so difficult.” Steve released the hold he had over Tony and stepped back. He found himself on the ground for the second time with Tony towering over him.

“Don’t touch me, ever. Next time I will break your arm.”

Something in Tony’s voice made Steve take note. He nodded as he rose to his feet. “No touching, got it.” When Tony approached the driver’s door he groaned. “I drive!”

Tony lowered his head. “Did Harry tell you where I’m going?”

“Yes.”

“Then drive.” Tony walked around and got into the passenger seat. When the driver’s door didn’t open, he leaned over. “Are you waiting for a written invite, McNavy?”

Steve opened the door and got in. “McNavy? That’s weak.”

“Better than Sunshine,” Tony said with his eyes closed and ignored the other man for the rest of the trip.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

**Lashkargah City: 2 Days later**

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Steve cursed as he leaped down from the second story balcony and landed on the back of the insurgent beneath him. He didn’t give the man the time to make a sound as he quickly snapped his neck and then pulled him into the shadows. He checked his weapons and moved deeper into the compound.

He should never have agreed to Tony’s reckless plan. He would’ve thought of something else if Tony had just given him a moment. But, no, the bullheaded stubborn MI6 agent didn’t want to wait and even before Steve could stop him, he’d leapt onto the back of a goat cart and got carried away, leaving Steve behind.

It had taken Steve more than a day to catch-up to him at the compound where Tony planned to assassinate one of the main sponsors of the Taliban, Nahi Omar. It was stated that Omar funded up to twenty-five percent of the Taliban’s operations in the Helmand Province. Taking him out would be a huge financial blow to the Taliban.

Steve had heard the man’s name before and what he’d done by buying millions of dollars of weapons, ammunition and explosives for the Taliban. As a result, more than one team was sent to eliminate the man but all failed. Now it seems like the British had enough and decided to send in a single man to take care of the problem.

What bothered him more was that DiNozzo had no exfil planned. When Steve had asked him, he’d shrugged his shoulders and said he would wing it. They had a huge argument about it that almost turned physical but then Tony had stormed off and disappeared for hours. And when he returned, they had to prepare to get into Omar’s compound by posing as two soldiers. Lucky they were both dark in color, had beards that covered their faces and spoke decent Pashtu. Tony spoke it without an accent and that was scary.

However, that plan didn’t work out as their contact who would’ve taken them in didn’t show, and instead of scrapping the mission, Tony jumped into the fucking goat cart and now he was scrambling to catch up and get to Tony in time before the man could get himself killed. Because Steve wanted to do that first. Or maybe first kiss him and then kill him, but yes, killing and kissing was definitely on the menu.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

The k-bar knife clutched in his hand was sticky with blood. Blood dripped from the gash on his forehead as well as the deep cut over his abdomen. Tony knew he had to get the wound on his stomach patched up as he was leaving a clear blood trail for everyone. Luckily it was still dark and unless they saw the blood in the dust, he was safe for now.

After he made sure no one followed him, he took the bottom of his t-shirt and ripped it into strips. He bundled up a strip and pressed it into the wound to stem the bleeding before he quickly wrapped the other around his torso. Tony groaned as the stomach wound pulsed with pain. He still can’t believe that the bloody bastard got the jump on him. He had managed to kill the man with his own knife, but got sliced up for his trouble. On the other hand, the man was stupid not to call out for help. If he did, Tony would’ve been dead. After he hid the body, he’d made his way to Omar’s room where he found his target alone. The man was a pompous ass and thought he was safe in the compound. Tony had taken him out with a single shot to the head, took a photo for identification purposes and exited the single-story building.

Unfortunately, his run-in with the guard had set him behind and now first prayer will be called soon and if Omar didn’t join, an alarm would be raised. He had to get to a safe place first and then try to get out. Tony closed his eyes for a second, he was dead tired. He had been on guard the whole time while McGarrett was with him. Yes, he feinted sleep a few times but that was because he didn’t want to talk to the man. Tony always worked alone, he never trusted anyone to have his back, with the exception of Harry. Thinking of Harry made him frown. He was going to punch him in the face if he saw him again. Saddling him up with a SEAL. A bloody sexy SEAL of all things. If he’d met Steve at any other time, he would’ve jumped his bones so fast just to get rid of that itch and then he’d be on his way. He didn’t do relationships. Sex was a one-time thing - the end.

But since he saw the SEAL across the base the first time jogging with his team, his cock had come to attention and didn’t want to settle down. He’d rubbed out a few ones in the coming days just on those images. He knew if he could get McGarrett naked and between the sheets his body would finally settle down and he could go on with his life. Unfortunately, at this stage it wasn’t going to happen. He wondered if McGarrett made it back to base. He knew Harry would not be impressed but he should’ve known better.

A sound outside of his hiding place had him open his eyes. He stared through the slated opening and watched the dark figure pass. He groaned softly when he recognized the silhouette. He should’ve known McGarrett would follow him here. The bloody SEAL was like a dog with a bone. Tony got to his feet and shuffled forward. Several things happened at the same time.

Shouts came from the main building. Men with flashlights and AK-47s spilled from different buildings. Chaos erupted as alarm calls echoed through the predawn.

Tony reached for his pistol as the first shot sounded. He ducked instinctively as more shots followed. He knew they weren’t shooting at him but the same couldn’t be said for the American. When he heard the distinctive sound of the Glock returning fire it spurred him into action. He leaped from his hiding space just in time to see an insurgent aiming at McGarrett’s back. He had no time to call out a warning but lifted the pistol and fired. The man crumbled to the ground.

More men appeared as Tony made his way to the other man. Together they kept on firing as they made their way across the compound grounds. Broken down wrecks, out buildings and different animal enclosures provided cover. A ricochet left a gash on Tony’s right cheek while another took out a chunk of flesh from his forearm. A grunt from McGarrett had him looking down and saw the red blossom from a wound on the SEAL’s left thigh. Tony grabbed hold of him and held him steady as they continued to flee.

“We need to get the fuck out of here!” Tony yelled as he pushed McGarrett behind another building. He breathed hard as he continued to watch for any men following them.

“Fuck,” Steve grunted as he lowered himself to the ground and fitted a torniquet above the wound and pulled it tight.

“You okay?” Tony asked as he leaned back against the wall to catch his breath and to take stock of his remaining ammunition.

“I’ve been shot in the leg, what do you think?” Steve snapped.

Tony grinned. “And there I rescued you from taking a bullet to the back of your head.” He peered down at the wound. The tourniquet had slowed the bleeding, but he knew McGarrett needed medical attention sooner rather than later.

“There wouldn’t have been a bullet near the back of my head, or one in my leg, if you didn’t run off like a fool without a proper plan. Now we’re in this mess and it’s your fault.” Steve jammed his finger in Tony’s chest.

“I had a plan and it didn’t include you so don’t make this out to be my fault.” He slapped the finger away.

“You call that a plan? Jumping into a goat cart and hoping you won’t get caught. That’s not a plan, it’s a fuckup.”

Tony glared at the man next to him. “It worked, didn’t it? I got the job done and if you didn’t show up, I’d have been long gone by now.”

Steve shook his head. “You are not blaming me for this cluster fuck. This is on your head.”

Tony wanted to argue but two men appeared and without a single hesitation he pulled the trigger and both men went down. “Can you walk? We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Steve answered. He reached out and clasped Tony’s hand as the man pulled him to his feet. For a second, he lost his footing and they bumped against one another and stood chest to chest. Steve leaned forward and licked his lips. Now was so not the right time to do this but he had to kiss Tony. He had to feel the man’s mouth beneath his. He turned his head and leaned in.

Gunfire erupted around them as the compound’s men located them. The two men ducked for cover.

“We need to get out of here!” Tony bellowed as he fired another volley of shots at the men.

“I know that.” Steve also returned fire. “We need to get over to the eastern wall.”

“We’re on the other side of the bloody compound.” Tony ducked as he plucked another magazine from his vest. “One mag left.”

Steve checked his amo. He had eight rounds left in the pistol and another three mags. He passed one mag to Tony. Gun fire erupted over their heads and the two men ducked again. “They’re going to pin as down. We need to get moving.”

Tony nodded in agreement. “Let’s go.” He placed his arm around Steve’s middle as the two of them broke cover and headed towards the next cover spot. They managed to reach the next out building without getting hit.

Steve took another two men out. His thigh throbbed and he felt lightheaded. He checked the tourniquet and tightened it when he saw the wound had started bleeding again. “Let's move.” Slowly they made their way to the eastern side.

“Here,” Steve grunted as he found the place where he’d scaled the wall to get inside. He lifted a piece of corrugated sheet iron and took out an RPG.

“Why the hell did you stash it here!”

“Because I couldn’t prance through the fucking compound with the thing on my shoulder trying to save your ass!”

Shots behind them had them duck for cover yet again. The problem was there wasn’t much to hide behind. Tony fired his weapon taking out another man. “Hurry the fuck up and fire that thing.”

“What the hell do you think I’m trying to do!” Steve lifted the grenade launcher to his shoulder, aimed and fired. Five seconds later it hit the target and the building exploded. Men screamed as people scattered in different directions.

“That’s our cue to get out of here!” Tony grabbed Steve by the arm. “Let’s go.” He hoisted himself up the wall and leaned down to give Steve a hand. Both men jump down to the other side just as the rotors of a Black Hawk could be heard.

“Calvary is here!” Steve grinned and before Tony could respond he grabbed him by the neck, pulled him close and kissed him squarely on the mouth. Both men groaned at the contact as Tony’s lips parted and they deepened the kiss.

Steve pulled back when the helicopter appeared on the horizon. He smiled. “I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kill you or kiss you when I rescued your ass.”

Tony returned the smile. “Seemed to me like you decided.”

Steve took Tony’s offered hand in assistance as the helicopter landed a few feet from them. His team spilled out as they gave protection for the two men to get onboard. “I can’t wait to fuck you for the first time, Sunshine,” he shouted over the roar of the blades and the engine.

Tony could only stare heatedly at Steve as they took their places in the mighty bird and it lifted up back into the air and carried them to safety.


	3. Chapter 3

**Honolulu General Hospital: Present day**

Danny looked up as a figure filled the waiting room door. “Joe.”

“Danny,” Joe greeted. “How’s he doing, how are they doing?”

“Steve’s a mess. I’ve never seen him so aimless before. As for Tony, we’re still waiting for him to regain consciousness.” Danny looked at Joe. “Did you know about Tony? About Steve being married?”

Joe nodded. “I was there when they first met.” A smile appeared on his face. “I stood as Steve’s best man.” He could still remember the look on Steve’s face when he and Tony returned from their first mission. Something had changed in the young man and it wasn’t difficult to figure out that the change was because of young Anthony DiNozzo-Paddington.

_Don’t ask-don’t tell_ , was no longer on the books and Steve’s team knew that their Master Chief had fallen for a guy. And not any guy – an MI6 agent with blue blood. Joe had heard Steve’s team ripping Steve about that on more than one occasion. Going so far as to call him, _my Lord_ , but Steve took it all with a smile, he had been so happy.

After they met for the first time in 2012, they started a friendship that steadily grew into something stronger. They didn’t see much of one another as Tony travelled the globe, while Steve was deployed all over Asia, the Middle East of then State side. Every time they got together Joe could see their love for one another growing stronger. It didn’t surprise him that they got married at the beginning of 2014. A mere eight months before Tony was KIA and Steve’s nightmare started. Joe got pulled out of his musings when Danny’s voice sounded up again.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Joe looked at Danny. “Because it wasn’t my place. And because Steve didn’t say anything.” Joe sighed. “After everything happened, Steve wanted nothing to do with the Navy anymore. He had less than six months left of his enlistment. He made it clear he wasn’t going to sign up again. I was worried that he would do something stupid.”

“You’re the one who got him this gig.”

“I did. Technically, it was Tony’s idea.”

Danny frowned. “You’ve lost me.”

Joe smiled. “After Steve and Tony tied the knot both men talked about settling down. Tony mentioned that he would join Steve here in the US, but stated that there was no way he would work for the CIA. He also didn’t think that the FBI would be a viable option. He did some research into NCIS. He used his MI6 contacts and went to have a look at their HQ in D.C. Tony was horrified over the orange walls, but he liked what he’d learned. When Tony died, I remembered that conversation. Steve wouldn’t have lasted in NCIS so that wasn’t an option. I knew the Governor was looking for someone to start up and run a new task force here on the island. I approached her and told her about Steve.”

Danny’s watch made a beeping sound. He pressed a button and the sound stopped. “Steve’s five minutes are up.” He rose to his feet. “I need to go and get him.”

“Will you mind if I go?”

Danny shook his head. “See if you can take him down and get some food into him, please. And then if you can look after him for a while. I need to go home and get some clean clothes. I’m starting to smell ripe.”

Joe nodded. “No problem. I’ll see to it that he eats, and keep an eye on him.”

“Thank you.” Danny shook Joe’s hand and directed him to Tony’s room before he moved towards the elevators and out of hospital.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Joe leaned with his shoulder against the door frame and looked at the young man he held in high esteem. Steve was like his own son. He stepped into the room and placed his hands on Steve’s shoulders. He got his first proper look at the man in the bed.

Tony had gotten older, but he still had that handsome look going. It worried him that Tony was so pale. He couldn’t remember any time where Tony didn’t have a healthy tan on him. It made him wonder where Tony was prior to getting into Steve’s home, nearly bleeding out on the floor.

“Did you know?” Steve’s hoarse voice broke the silence.

Joe squeezed Steve’s shoulders. “No, I did not.”

“Did you suspect?”

Joe sighed. “No, I did not. And maybe I should’ve.”

Steve bowed his head, reached out and squeezed Tony’s hand before he got to his feet. He turned and faced the older man. “He’s alive.” Steve whispered.

Joe nodded as he pulled Steve to his chest and held him tight. “He’s alive and he found his way back to you.”

“He did.” Steve pulled away and smiled. “Did Danny go home?”

“Yeah, he told me to get some food into you.”

Steve moved towards the door. “Not sure I’ll eat much, but I’ll try.”

Joe followed and watched as Steve spoke to the nurse on duty. He had no doubt that Steve told her that he would be in the cafeteria and no other place. He joined the younger man at the duty desk and both men headed to the elevator. They remained silent until they each got a sandwich to eat and some coffee to drink. They chose a table at the back of the small eatery and sat down across from one another.

“Harry is on his way from London,” Joe said as he stirred his coffee.

“Do you think he knew?”

Joe shrugged. “You know I was never good at reading that Englishman. Less so over the phone.”

Steve lowered his head. His sandwich remained untouched.

“I should’ve insisted on identifying Tony’s remains.”

“No, Steve.” Joe took a sip of his coffee. “You wouldn’t have gotten that image out of your head. You wouldn’t have wanted that to be the last picture of Tony in your head.”

“But then I would’ve known he wasn’t dead!” Steve slammed his fists on the table. Several people looked their way.

Joe had no reply to that. What bothered him more was that Tony was identified through his DNA that was found on the body. He’d never inquired what test they did to identify the body as that of DiNozzo. Now he started to wonder how many people were involved in this coverup. More importantly, where the hell was DiNozzo all this time.

“I’ll find you answers, Steve. I promise.” Joe pushed the uneaten sandwich towards Steve. “Eat up or Danny will have my skin.”

Steve gave him a small smile before he picked up the piece of bread and gave a small bite.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

“I found something,” Junior called out as he stood in front of their large screen and searched for any possible leads.

“What did you find?” Lou asked as he stepped up next to their youngest teammate.

“I was looking into how Mr. DiNozzo got onto the island since we checked all the flight records from the commercial flights and couldn’t find him. I also went through the footage of the traffic cams around the airports. Once again, nothing.” Junior held up his hand when he saw that the captain wanted to interrupt him.

“Long story short, because we couldn’t find any vehicle tracks near Steve’s house, I thought, what about a seaplane?”

Lou gave the younger man a proud look. “Some clever thinking there, kid. What did you find?”

“There are three seaplane anchorages in the vicinity. I managed to get information on the planes that landed around the time of the incident. The anchorage furthest away, had only one plane that landed. Except for the pilot, there were no other passengers on board. According to the flight plan and the cargo manifesto, he came in from Kauai and carried cleaning supplies.”

“The anchorage in the middle had three planes coming in. Two of them only had the pilot and cargo. However, the third seaplane that landed had no cargo but had four passengers and some luggage. Three females and one male. The females were in a group and the male was alone. I had contacted the pilot and he gave me a description of the male. It sounded like Mr. DiNozzo so I sent him a photo and he confirmed. According to our pilot, DiNozzo appeared stressed but he put it down as maybe he didn’t like to fly. More importantly, he indicated that DiNozzo had no bags.”

Lou nodded. “He came along the beach and when he neared Steve’s house, he cut through the plantation to make sure all is secure.”

Junior hummed in agreement. “Except, that he didn’t know that he’d be ambushed in the plantation and nearly killed.”

“Agreed. But how did our mystery assailants come to be in the plantation? Or for that matter, how did they know he’d go to Steve’s place?” Lou tapped with his fingers on the side of the table.

“Since Steve and Danny found Tony in his house, do we know if anyone else tried to get into Steve’s house?”

Junior shook his head. “Adam had linked the alarm of the motion sensor to his phone and mine. No disturbances.”

Lou nodded.

“What are you thinking, Captain?”

“That whoever waited for Tony were the ones who entered Steve’s house in an attempt to see if he’s hiding there.”

“Could be possible.” Junior nodded. “That would then also explain how they found Tony. They were staking out the house when Tony arrived.”

“And they attempted to grab him. He resisted and got shot. Got away. They couldn’t follow him into the house because of the shots and decided to flee.” Lou could see in his mind’s eye how everything went down.

“And they fled through the plantation on food, back onto the beach and might have left the island on a seaplane.” Junior reasoned.

“That’s good. Real good. If we assume that they left on a seaplane, it might mean that they came to the island in one too.” Lou turned to Junior. “Can you remember when McGarrett indicated the first time that there was someone in his house?”

Junior frowned. “Just over two weeks, I think.”

“Get the logs on all seaplanes that came in and landed at any of these anchorages in those two weeks.”

“It’s going to be a lot of work,” Junior stated.

“Get Tani to help. I have a feeling we’ll find our assailants in there,” Lou ordered.

“On it, Captain.”

Lou turned towards his office. “Do you know where Adam is?” He’d not seen the other man since the previous day.

“Yeah, he went back to talk to some of Steve’s neighbors. They were away for a few days and reported a break in at their residence.”

Lou frowned. He went into his office and picked up his own tablet. He brought up the HPD official site and looked at the statistics for the past two weeks. He hummed when he immediately saw what he was looking for. He picked up his phone and called Adam. He might’ve found a way to identify the people responsible for shooting Tony DiNozzo.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Danny found Steve and Joe in the hospital waiting room. Steve was stretched out on the floor with Joe’s jacket as a pillow. He was fast asleep. Danny indicated to the older man to follow him out.

“How did you manage to do that?” Danny asked.

“Years of persuasion,” Joe replied. “Did you find anything?”

“Yeah, a shit load of stuff.” Danny filled him in on how Tony got to the island and what they pieced together about the ambush at Steve’s house.

“The fact that they were lying in wait tells me they were keeping tabs on Steve,” Joe speculated.

Danny nodded. “We’re still figuring out where Tony was before he came to the island. Hopefully that will tell us where he has been for the past six years, or at least give us an idea on where to start looking.”

Joe wanted to reply when Danny’s phone rang.

“It’s Adam.” Danny answered the call. The conversation didn’t last long but when Danny ended the call he had a grin on his face.

“What did they find?”

Danny stared at his phone until it pinged. He opened it up and took a hard look at the photo. He gave the phone to Joe. “We believe this is one of the men we’re looking for; Adam is still running the image through facial recognizing.

Joe scowled. “Don’t bother, I know who this is.” He gripped the phone in his hand, his knuckles turned white from the pressure.”

“What? Who is it?”

Instead of answering, Joe pulled out his own phone. When the call got answered the conversation didn’t last long. “You need to get your British ass down to Hawaii and do it quickly. Phone me when you’re here.” Joe ended the call.

“Are you going to tell me who that is, or do I have to start guessing?”

Joe glared at Danny. “It’s a long story. But in short, this man was supposed to have Steve and Tony’s backs and he just turned out to be a traitor.”

“Who is he?”

“Colonel Marcus Brand. He was the base commander at Camp Dwyer where Steve and his team were deployed and where Tony and Steve met.” Venom laced his voice as Joe told Danny who the man in the photo was.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

**Five-O HQ**

“Colonel Brand started his career in the Marines when he graduated from high school and did his four years at the National Reserve Officer Training Corps. After he earned his bachelor’s degree, and did the required training, he became a commissioned Marine officer,” Adam explained as he filled in the team.

“In 2010 he became the base commander and was stationed there until 2014 when he returned to the States under a cloud of suspicion. He was never charged with any wrongdoing due to a lack of sufficient evidence. He left the Marines as he felt he no longer could trust the establishment.”

“What were the allegations against him?” Lou asked.

“Human trafficking.” A man with a British accent spoke up behind them.

“You must be Harry Langford.” Danny reached the man and greeted him with a firm handshake.

“Yes,” Harry answered. Introductions followed before the group of men found themselves in front of the large screen again.

“What can you tell us?” Danny asked.

“That I’m pissed off and should I get my hands on Brand I will wring his bloody neck.” Harry glared at the photo on the screen.

“You’ll have to get in line for that,” Danny responded.

“I can imagine what Steve would do if he found him first. He always did have a bit of a temper on him.” Harry sighed.

“What about the allegations against Brand?” Lou prodded.

“More importantly, did you know that Tony was still alive?”

Harry turned to Danny. “Joe and Steve asked me the same question when I arrived at the hospital.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “I’ve known Anthony for a very long time. His uncle and my father were best mates growing up. After Anthony’s mother died, uncle Clive brought him home to England and raised the young boy as his own. His good for nothing father drank himself into a stupor. When Anthony was twelve years old, his farther wrapped his car around a tree and died instantly. Uncle Clive adopted Anthony soon thereafter. When his uncle passed, Anthony inherited the whole Paddington estate. Including the title.”

Adam frowned. “He’s Lord Paddington?”

Harry nodded. “Uncle Clive died when Anthony was twenty-four years old. He’d just started out at MI6. Of course, there was a huge hoo-ha around the fact that he was a Lord and he couldn’t be a field agent. His status wouldn’t allow it.” Harry smiled. “Anthony told them very clearly what he thought about that. In the end, he remained at MI6 and became one of our best agents.”

“And if you really want to piss him off, you should refer to him as Lord Paddington. I swear more than one time he wanted to shoot the person who addressed him by his title. Luckily, he was unarmed every time.” Harry cleared his throat. “As for your original question if I knew he was alive - no, I did not.”

Harry lowered his head. “I took a closed casket back to Britain and buried him next to his uncle.” He slammed his fist onto the table in front of him. “I should’ve made sure. I did not. And he was gone for six years, God knows where. I should've known.”

“Did you suspect anything?” Adam inquired.

Harry shook his head. “No. In 2014 there was renewed fighting in the Helmand province. The Taliban and now ISIS, were pushing back allied forces in an attempt to gain control over those areas previously cleared of insurgents. Fighting was heavy and British intelligence received information that required Anthony’s unique skill set to investigate.”

“That’s when he was thought to have died in an IED explosion?”

Harry nodded. “The last time I saw my best friend was two days prior when he received his last orders from me and left. He told me he’d see me in a week’s time. And that I should continue to try and poach Steve away from the Navy to join us as he missed his husband. They were married for around eight months at that stage.”

“Where was Steve?”

Harry cleared his throat. “He and his team were sent out on a surprise covert operation a day prior to this. He was supposed to be Anthony’s backup. But then we received intel that the target was on the move and Anthony had to go. He left without backup.”

Adam hummed. “Who sent them on the mission, and was it a success?”

Harry frowned. “I never bothered to find out if it was successful. I know the Colonel himself got the intel from a source, and he sent Steve and his team.” He looked at the team. “It was chaos when the SEALs returned. The base was under attack and then the reports came in of the IEDs that took out three vehicles. I didn’t even know Anthony was in that convoy. I was only told about it when they ID the remains through DNA that he was in the lead Humvee.” Harry lowered his head. “He wasn’t supposed to be in that Humvee.”


	4. Chapter 4

**2014 Helmand Province: Camp Dwyer**

“Will you stop worrying about me?” Tony asked as he shifted from Steve’s body to get more comfortable next to his husband.

“If I don’t worry about you, who will?” Steve replied as he placed a kiss on Tony’s temple.

“Are you saying I can’t take care of myself?” Tony grinned as he poked Steve in the ribs. It sucked that Steve’s team got tagged for a covert mission. But on the other hand, they were the best in the business so he understood why Colonel Brand picked them for the op. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d go into a mission on his own and in all likelihood, it wouldn’t be the last time either.

Steve grinned and with a swift move turned their positions so that he was on top with Tony at the bottom. He pinned Tony’s arms above his head. “You were saying?”

Tony shook his head. “I let you do that.”

“Yeah? Why?” Steve asked as he leaned in and took Tony’s mouth in a scorching kiss.

Tony moaned as he granted Steve access to his mouth. He tried to pull his hands free, he wanted to touch the man above him but it seemed that his husband had other plans. Soon both men were rock hard as they grinded against each other.

“Bloody hell!” Tony gasped. “If you don’t fuck me know, I’ll divorce you. I swear.”

Steve grinned. “You’ll never get rid of me so easily,” he grabbed hold of the lube that was on the bed and coated his fingers quickly. “Now, where were we?” He leaned in, took Tony’s mouth again and with a single finger breached the body beneath him.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

**Deep into Taliban territory: Location unknown**

Tony frowned as he scouted the area. His gut continued to churn as he watched for any movement from the small village in the valley beneath him. Not for the first time since he started with this mission, he wished Steve was by his side. Things were hinky from the beginning and he’d wondered a few times if he shouldn’t abort the mission.

It had started with the fact that the old Jeep he took from the base to his first contact point ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. He would’ve been stuck in a not so friendly part of the province if it wasn’t for the fact that he took an extra gallon of gas because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get gas in the area where he was going.

The next thing that went wrong was that his contact failed to show up. Tony knew for a fact that the man could be trusted. He and Harry had worked with Ahmadi several times in the past. Because Ahmadi didn’t pitch, Tony had to find another way to get to his second rendezvous point. Luckily, he’d managed to buy an old Ural motorcycle, the sidecar’s floor was rotten through, but the motorcycle itself ran and that’s all that he needed.

When he arrived at the meeting point, he was just in time to see how the convoy he was supposed to go with, disappeared in the distance. There was no way he could yell to attract their attention and it meant he was stuck.

Tony had no way to contact Harry and plan something else. It meant he had to hoof it to where he needed to be. Because it was Taliban country, he couldn’t just walk around in the middle of the day. He had to wait for darkness before he could set out.

It had taken him three days to reach the ridge and the village in the bottom of the valley. He was tired, dehydrated, hungry and had blisters where he’d never had any before. Tony had found an outcrop that was high and had several bushes that supplied cover. He’d made himself at home. Managed to find a small stream with clean water and ate a lizard he’d caught and cooked over a very small fire.

Tony had drifted off to sleep and slept a good four hours before he got up and made his way to where he could get a clear sighting of the village and its occupants. He had to confirm that his target was in the village before he could go down and take the man out.

Now, he had been on the ridge for more than ten hours and with no sighting of the intended target. What bothered Tony more, was the lack of males. There were children, boys and girls, and then women, but the men were few and far in between. If he did spot a man, it was either an old man over the age of sixty, or a young man, not older than twenty-two. It didn’t make sense. The man he was supposed to take out always had an entourage of men with him. It included a few body doubles, but there was no one.

The sun went down, and Tony had taken out his NVGs to have a better look. Some women appeared from their houses and started milling around in the middle of the village. They’d started gathering wood, and goats. He’d seen them hauling buckets with water and disappeared into the house of his target. Tony had frowned at the sudden activities, and then he’d noticed the headlights through his NVGs. “Bingo.” Tony had stayed put and watched as the cars came closer and finally stopped in the village itself.

Several men had exited the cars, including the target himself. He’d watched as the man disappeared into the small house even as the activities continued through the village. Things only started to calm down just before sunrise. It had meant that Tony would have to wait another full day before he could attempt to go down and take care of business.

Tony made the decision to go back to the outcrop and stay out of the heat and return to this spot just before sunset. He would have to take the target out that night, or he’d really have to abort the mission. The problem was, if he did abort, they had no idea on when they’d get an opportunity to take out the bastard and rid the world of one very bad man.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

The shadows made it easy for Tony to stay hidden as he made his way through the small village to the center house. He’d watched over the village since early afternoon and confirmed that the target was still present when the man disappeared into the house just past sunset. Since they had no electricity and there appeared to be no generators, Tony knew that once they retreated into their homes, they would either sit and read by oil lamps or go to bed early.

The target had no woman in the house. If he sought out a female he’d go to her place, do the deed and leave again. He never remained overnight. It was one of the reasons it was so difficult in taking the man out. Tony frowned when he exited one shadow to head towards the next. The previous night there were different sentries at different positions. Tonight, he has yet to come across any. His gut churned again. He pushed the uneasy feeling away and headed to the target’s house.

Tony worked quickly and silently as he made his way into the darkened house. He had his NVGs over his eyes as he cleared room by room. The small kitchen area was empty as well as what looked like some sort of office. Tony made a mental note to check it out again if there was time left. He made his way to the last room. There was no actual door in the frame, instead, strings of beads were used to separate the bedroom from the rest of the house. Tony had his K-bar in hand as he slowly pushed the beads to the side. On the right was a pallet on the floor that was used as a bed. A single figure appeared to be sleeping on it. The figure had his back to the room’s entrance.

Tony frowned as he moved closer and he came to a halt he looked at the figure again. He couldn’t see the man’s chest moving up or down and there were no breath sounds coming from the pallet. Tony cursed. He’d been set up. “Fuck!” He hissed as he turned to leave the room. He had no time to duck as something slammed into his face. Tony stumbled back, tried to lift up the hand with the knife and got struck again. This time his knees buckled and gave way. He tried to get up. Thought he’d managed it, when someone pulled him up by the hair but before he could take a swing at whoever attacked him, a punch to his abdomen robbed him of his breath and he landed back on his knees. Different hands and feet punched and kicked him. He’d lost the knife in the fight and then darkness descended as a boot connected to the side of his head and rendered him unconscious.

Tony didn’t feel as they stripped him of his clothes, or when they took his own knife and cut him across his chest and abdomen before they swiped his ragged clothes through the blood and placed it in a bag. Tony didn’t feel it when they violently yanked a fist full of hair from his head and shoved it into another bag before both bags were sealed and handed to someone who took it away. He didn’t wake up as they picked him up from the floor, naked as the day he was born and tossed him into the back of an old van and drove off.

He didn’t see money exchanging hands or the hand shake the two men shared on a successful deal done. For Tony it was the beginning of the end.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Steve leaned back against the side of the Chinook helicopter as they flew over the vast landscape. He, and he knew his team, was beyond tired. It had been a mission from hell. He still couldn’t believe that they’d made it out alive. They shouldn’t have, but his team was the best and they never gave up. In the end they escaped the tunnels by the skin of their teeth.

What bothered him more was the fact that their HVT wasn’t on site. By the look of things, the man hadn’t been there for the last couple of months. Something wasn’t adding up. He turned to his 2IC. “Something wasn’t right!” He yelled over the noise of the large bird.

Thompson nodded. “I agree. We’ll have to look through everything again when we’re back on base.”

Steve returned the nod. “Am I paranoid to say it felt like a trap?” He yelled again.

Thompson shook his head. “There was something fishy going on there, Boss. And I don’t want to blow our own horn, but if we were not as good as we are, we wouldn’t have made it out alive.”

McGarrett wanted to respond but then the pilot’s voice sounded through his headphones. “Repeat again your last?” Steve demanded even as he leaned forward.

“Camp Dwyer is under attack, Sir!” The pilot turned and looked at him.

“Fuck! God damnit! Get us there, now!” Steve and the rest of the team started checking their weapons, counted ammunition and made ready to join the fight the moment the Chinook reached the camp.

For a moment Steve wondered where Tony was but then the helicopter touched down and they jumped out into hell.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Harry treated another wounded Marine before handing the wounded man over to one of the medics and moved forward. They’d finally managed to fight off the wave of insurgents who’d first detonated several suicide vests at the base entrance before they stormed in. He still had no idea where they all came from.

They were armed with AK-47s and carried RPGs. He himself had managed to take out another two suicide bombers before they had a chance to detonate their vests. He had to defuse each vest before he could move on. Firefights had broken out all over the base. Sirens bellowed out into the night sky. Searchlights had tried to pin insurgents down so that their own snipers and other military personnel could take them down, and take them out. It was the longest firefight he’d been in but it didn’t last longer than forty-five minutes.

Now his body ached. The graze on his left bicep burned like hell and the piece of shrapnel lodged in his right calf made it difficult to walk. Neither injury was life threatening but he knew it was time to go and have a trained medic or doctor take a look at them.

As he made his way over to the field hospital, he saw Steve’s 2IC running towards him. “Thompson!” Harry called out.

“There you are, Englishman.” Thompson slapped him on his back. “You seem to be in one piece.”

“It was a bloody mess.” Harry huffed. “Your Marines have suffered some losses.”

Thompson nodded. “Fucking Taliban is everywhere. Still can’t believe that they decided to attack the base.”

Harry nodded at the observation. “McGarrett?”

Thompson grinned. “Dropped him off at the hospital. He took a round to the left shoulder. It was a through and through, but it needed to be checked out. I was on my way to look for DiNozzo. Have you seen him, or is the Ninja still lurking in the shadows taking down the unsuspecting Taliban who’s still hiding around here?”

Harry grimaced. “He’s not back yet.”

Thompson frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed to be back yesterday already?”

“Yes.”

“You worried?” Thompson continued to frown. DiNozzo had become like a brother to him and the rest of Steve’s team. They jokingly call him their brother-in-law since he and Steve got married.

“It’s Anthony. He’ll get here.”

“You’re right. He will. And I have a feeling he’s going to be very disappointed to hear what he missed here.”

Harry laughed. The sound of another siren going off halted their conversation. They both turned and started running towards the main gate. Both had their pistols in their hands.

“What do we have, Petty Officer?” Thompson asked as they came to a halt at the barricaded main gate.

“Three incoming Humvees, Sir. They’re not responding to any radio calls.”

Harry and Thompson ducked beneath one of the large concrete slabs that was used to barricade the entrance. They could hear the tower using the bullhorn to get the Humvees to halt. They received no response and neither did any of the Humvees slowed down.

“It’s ours!” Someone shouted from the top of the tower.

Harry peered over the slab and then staggered back as the lead Humvee exploded. It flew high into the air, a fire bomb beneath it. It flipped and then crashed to the ground. More sirens sounded as the second and then the third Humvee suffered the same fate.

Three fireballs brightened the area. He could hear men scream for help as their vehicles continued to burn around him. Emergency personnel and soldiers hurried from the base but Harry knew it would be too late. They will not find any survivors. Not this time around.


	5. Chapter 5

**Honolulu General Hospital: Present day**

“Why hasn’t he woken up yet?” Steve asked no one in particular. Tony was no longer deemed to be in a coma but he was still unconscious. Doctor Melia was impressed with his progress and was cautiously optimistic that Tony would make a complete recovery.

“From what I’ve learned about Tony is that he is very stubborn. Both Harry and Joe are of the opinion that he is even more stubborn than you,” Danny responded.

Steve gave him a small smile. “I will never admit to saying this, but I agree with you. Tony is more stubborn than me.” He stood up from his chair and made his way to the window where he took a look outside.

“I know this is not the time, but I have to ask.” Danny looked at Steve.

“You want to know why I never told you?” Steve leaned with his head against the window pane. “It hurt too much. I didn’t want to share him with anyone else.” His hand drifted to his chest.

“Just thinking of him made it hurt right here.” Steve gripped his shirt with his fist. “There is not a day where I don’t think about him. I know they say that the hurt fades with time. Not for me. It’s still the same raw wound that appeared in my chest when Harry and Joe stepped into the barracks and told me the news.”

Steve moved away from the window. “I didn’t believe them. I told them that there must be a mistake. It didn’t matter that Tony was overdue for more than a week. We had no intel on him. Harry had pulled some strings and got the DNA retested. There wasn’t a lot to begin with but in the end the results remained the same.”

Steve took his seat again, reached out and covered Tony’s hand with his. “I went off the deep end. I destroyed the room with my bare hands. I got hold of my service pistol.” He lowered his head. “The last thing I remember was our medic’s face before he sedated me. It was filled with pity. I didn’t want to see that look of pity ever again.”

Danny made his way back to Steve and placed his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. There wasn’t much he could say but he would be there for Steve, every step of the way.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

**Five-O HQ**

“We’ve identified another three people with the help of Joe and Harry.” Lou showed their photos on the screen. “Adam is running through traffic cams to see if we can pick them up somewhere and get a possible location on them.”

“Who are they?” Danny asked. He’d come into the office to see if he could assist with the investigation. Harry, Junior and Tani were running security at the hospital and also keeping Steve company.

“Gunnery Sergeant Michael Feast.” Lou pointed to the photo on the left. “According to Joe, he served as Brand’s administrative chief when they were stationed in Camp Dwyer.” The guy in the photo appeared to be heavy in stature. He had the standard Marine cut going and it didn’t suit his face at all. He was mixed race and had bad skin. His eyes appeared lifeless in the photo.

“In the middle we have Lance Corporal Phillip Evans. He was also stationed at Camp Dwyer in logistics.” Evans looked small. He had a slim face and huge green eyes.

“Lastly, we have Lieutenant Adam Storm. He was also part of Brand’s delegation. But he’s also a trained sniper.” Storm had the blond-haired guy, blue eyed vibe going on. He looked like your everyday neighbor.

“Is he the most dangerous?” Danny pointed to Storm’s photo.

“They all are. They are trained Marines. It doesn’t mean they can’t fight because they weren’t in the field.” Joe spoke up for the first time. When the team looked at him, he continued. “Camp Dwyer was, is, a Marine base. They run the show. There was nothing going on in that camp that they were not aware of. I strongly suspect that the mission Brand sent Steve’s team on was an attempt to ambush and kill them. The only reason why they survived was because of how good they were. A lesser team wouldn’t have survived.” Joe pointed at the guys in the photos. “They will not hesitate to kill.”

Danny, Adam and Lou all nodded at the information.

“Could any of you find out where, or how, Tony came to be in Hawaii?” Joe inquired.

Adam sighed. “We’re still going through footage from all of the airports on the different islands to see if we can catch coming in. Unfortunately, up to now, we haven’t had any luck. We tried to do a search on names, but nothing has popped up. What makes it more difficult is that we’ve got no idea when he got to Hawaii.”

“Try DiNardo.” Joe smiled. “Tony and Steve actually went on a very short honeymoon after they were married. Tony took Steve to Italy. There was a mess up with their reservation. It was finally sorted out when the hotel figured out that they were the DiNardo couple. Mr. and Mrs. DiNardo to be specific. Tony had found it hilarious. Steve not so much.”

Danny snickered. “I’m going to tease Steve about that one.” He watched as Adam typed in the last name. They looked at one another when the search picked up a name.

“John DiNardo.” Adam read from the screen. “He came in through Kahului airport in Maui. An hour later he caught a flight to Kauai and from there he got the seaplane back and landed near Steve’s home.”

“Where was he before he landed on Maui?” Joe asked.

“Italy.” Adam finally brought up not only a flight ticket but also a scanned copy of an Italian passport with Tony’s photo.

“We need to find out where he stayed on Kauai.” Joe directed.

“Already on it and found it.” Adam showed them on the screen. “He rented a one room beach cottage for a month. Here’s the address.”

“We need to search that cottage.” Lou pointed to the screen.

“I’ll arrange for a chopper.” Danny reached for his phone. “Lou, you and Adam, head over and see what you can find. Keep us in the loop the whole time.” He turned away as his call got answered and ordered a police helicopter ASAP. He watched as his two teammates headed out. Hopefully they’d be able to get some answers.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

**Honolulu General Hospital**

Tani entered the room quietly and sighed as she saw Steve asleep with his head on the mattress right next to Tony’s hand. She knew her team leader was beyond tired and wished she could get him to go home for a few hours to get some proper rest. She closed the door softly behind her and moved slowly through the room to where a second chair stood in the corner. Tani placed the long steel case that carried her sniper rifle underneath the window. She was grateful that between Steve, Joe and Harry, they got permission to bring in their weapons. Tani released her sidearm and placed it on the small table next to the chair and sat down.

She had just spent the last three hours on a rooftop across from the hospital behind a rifle scope making sure that no one creeps up on them that isn’t welcome. In that time Junior had sat across the road in the parking lot in a very hot and stuffy car. Harry occupied the chair she’d now sat down on. They’ve changed positions. Harry was now in the car and Junior on the roof.

“Everything all right, outside?”

Tani looked up when Steve spoke. She nodded. “All in order, Boss.” She watched as Steve slowly stood up and stretched out. She saw him winch a few times and knew he had to be stiff from sitting down the whole day.

“Why don’t you go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat, Boss. I’ll stay here.” She suggested. “I’ll promise to let you know immediately should Tony decide to wake up.”

Steve slowly nodded. He needed to get some fresh air and work the kinks out that made themselves at home in his lower back and between his shoulder blades. “You’ll call me immediately?”

“I will.” Tani promised.

“Okay. I won’t be long.” Steve leaned in and kissed Tony on the forehead. “Keep out of trouble and don’t flirt with Tani. Junior will have your head if you do.”

Tani blushed. “He likes to flirt?”

Steve grinned. “Sometimes I think he’s got only two settings. Flirting and fighting. He’s pretty good at both.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Tani smiled as Steve left the room. It was still hard to believe that their Commander was married. But since Tony appeared, it was as if a calmness had settled over Steve that wasn’t there before. She couldn’t wait to see the two men interact. She had a feeling they would be adorable together.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Junior watched and frowned as a figure entered the main hospital entrance. He couldn’t get a clear view of the man’s face, but his general build made him think that it might be Phillip Evans. He watched the slender figure through the scope as the man walked towards the bank of elevators. He saw the middle elevator door open and looked on as Steve got out. His team lead showed no sign of recognizing the man and Junior kept his attention on the possible target as the doors of the elevator closed.

But then things changed. Through the scope he saw Steve finally react to the figure. He watched as the commander swung around, slammed his fist against the closed door. Although he couldn’t hear him screaming, the way Steve’s face turned red, Junior knew that Steve was yelling. He could hear an alarm going off and saw the automatic doors swinging close.

Junior reached for his phone. He had to warn Tani. He knew Harry had a view of the main entrance as well. As Steve continued to scream, people rushed over. Some fled and duck for cover as Steve drew his sidearm and headed towards the stairs. Security officers followed on his heels. “Pick up, Tani, pick up,” he begged as he held the phone against his ear and waited for it to ring.

“You should be aware of your surroundings at all material times.”

Junior felt the barrel of a gun pressed into the base of his neck.

“End the call. Toss the phone over the side of the building and keep your hands up. Shuffle back slowly from the rifle. Keep your hands where I can see.” The voice ordered.

Junior did as ordered.

“Get to your knees.”

Junior followed the order again. He cringed when the barrel of the weapon was placed at the back of his head. He closed his eyes.

A single shot shattered the silence.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Harry looked up as a figure moved to pass the car from the back. He frowned as he saw that the man was dressed in a hoodie that was pulled up over his face, even his hands were stuffed inside the pockets. An alarm bell rang in his head. He reached for his weapon when the window right next to his ear shattered. He instinctively ducked. Glass shards rained down on him. He felt the tiny stings as the glass cut him on his face. An arm appeared right before him and Harry latched out. He grabbed hold of the arm and slammed it against the steering wheel. He yanked at the shirt and pulled his attacker into the car. He used the side of his hand and jammed it into the man’s throat. The power behind the hit was enough to leave the man gasping for air. Harry grabbed hold of the man’s head and rammed it against the steering wheel. There wasn’t much space to move in but he didn’t let that deter him. He knew he had to win or he wouldn’t leave the car alive.

The horn hooted every time he slammed the man’s head against the steering wheel. What felt like a lifetime the man finally went limp. “Bollocks!” Harry cursed as he managed to push his attacker back out of the window. He heard the man land on the ground with a loud thud. His hands shook as he managed to open the door and got his first proper look at the man who attacked him. “It appears you’ve lost some weight Mr. Feast. But on the other hand, dealing with admin the whole time instead of being in the trenches has made you soft.”

Harry got out of the car, kicked the unconscious man once hard in the side before he got some zip ties he’d spotted earlier and tied the man up. He dragged Feast to the back of the car where he opened the trunk and heaved the body inside. He slammed the trunk shut and locked it.

“Shit!” Harry yelled as an alarm sounded from the hospital. “Fucking hell!” He continued to curse as he ran towards the street. He jumped as an object hit him on the shoulder and then landed on the pavement in front of him. Harry looked down and saw the broken phone. “Fuck!” He screamed as a shot echoed through the air.

****

**Every Day Fandom RB challenge**

Tani shuddered and rubbed her hands over her arms. An eerie silence has settled over the room. Even the corridor right outside seemed to have quieted down. She rose to her feet and checked the windows. They were all locked. From where she stood, she couldn’t see where Junior was but since she’d been out there herself, she knew exactly where his position was.

Movement behind her made her turn around. Green eyes filled with distrust stared at her.

“Hey,” she greeted him with a smile. “My name is Tani Rey. I am with the Hawaii Five-O task force.” She slowly reached for her back pocket and took out her credentials. She opened it up and showed it to him.

“Steve?” Tony’s voice croaked.

“He went to stretch his legs and to get some awful cafeteria coffee. I’ll call him for you.” She took out her phone and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Tony cleared his throat.

“Nothing. I don’t think.” Tani held up the phone and walked the room. “I don’t have any signal.”

Tony looked around the room. “Open the window, stick out our phone and see if you have a signal then.”

Tani shrugged and did what he suggested. She frowned. “Still no signal.”

“Jammer.” Tony pushed himself up and groaned out loud.

“Easy, where do you think you’re going?” Tani tried to push him down, but found her wrist in an iron grip.

“No!”

“Sorry.” Tani stood still. “I only wanted to stop you from getting up.”

Tony released her wrist. “Unless the hospital possesses their own jammer in an attempt to make sure that their patients stay off their phones, I would say we need to get out of here. In order to do that, I have to move.”

“And in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve been shot. Multiple times.” Tani glared at the green-eyed man.

“I know. I was there.” He looked coolly at her. “And glaring at me is not going to change a thing. “The fact that you’re here with a weapon tells me you’ve got an idea on what’s going on. If not, then let me say this to you. The men after me - they will not hesitate to kill me and kill you.” He looked at her. “If you’re so lucky.” A shiver ran through his body.

“Steve told me you’ve got two settings. A fighting one and a flirting one. I assume this is not your flirting setting.”

Tony gave her a small smile. “Maybe when we’re out of danger, I’ll try then.” He extended his arm. “Help me up. We really need to get out of here. If they activated jammers then then they are already here. I don’t want to be a sitting duck.”

“If you bust any stitches, or die on me, I’ll kick your ass,” Tani answered as she moved closer to the bed to help the injured man.

“Noted.” Tony hissed as he sat up straight. Getting out of bed and out of the room sounded like a good idea until now. The room started to spin and he closed his eyes.

“Easy!” Tani exclaimed as Tony listed forward.

“Sorry,” Tony apologized. He looked around the room and spotted the wheelchair in the corner. “I never thought I’d use a wheelchair willingly. Bring it over.”

Tani hurried over and grabbed the chair. She pushed it as close as possible to the bed and made sure the brake was up before she straightened up. “Let me do the work.”

Tony nodded and with Tani’s help he got to his feet. He grabbed hold of her shoulders as the room threatened to spin out of control once more.

“Take a deep breath and just stand for a moment. The feeling will pass.” Tani encouraged him. “Look out of the window, maybe that will help as well.”

Finding that a good idea, Tony lifted his head and looked out of the window. “Fuck!” He stepped forward and nearly face planted as his legs gave way.

“What the hell!” Tani scrambled to keep him upright.

“LOOK!” Tony yelled. He grabbed her and spun her around.

“Junior!” Tani’s body shook. She watched as the man came up behind Junior and pressed a weapon against his head. She reached for her sidearm, but then realized that it wouldn’t work. But she had something else that might. “Sit down.” She ordered Tony as she raced to the window and grabbed the steel case. Her thumbs lifted the locks and she took out her Remington 700. Her hands shook as she lifted the firearm up.

“You’re breathing is too erratic. Get it under control. Breath through your nose one, two, three, four. Out through your mouth, one, two, three, four,” Tony couched her.

Tani nodded as she kneeled on the floor and steadied the weapon against the window sill. She continued with the steady breathing as she lined up the shot. Her heart thumped against her ribs as she looked through the scope. The man - Adam Storm, had Junior on his knees. Tani saw as he pressed the weapon against the back of Junior’s head. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger just as something slammed into her side. She tried to pull herself up but was pinned down, a shot went off right next to her head. A second followed. Her ears rang and she gasped for air. “Junior!” She tried to get up, but her limbs didn’t want to cooperate.

“Tani!” Tony shook her hard as she continued to struggle to breath and to sit up. “Tani Rey look at me now!” He bellowed and it had the desired effect. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with him.

“We need to move!”

Tani became aware of a cacophony of alarms sounding through the room. It was then that she noticed that Tony was lying on top of her. Her pistol clutched in his hand. A man lay across from them. He had a gunshot wound to his chest. Next to the body was another firearm. “You shot him?” She managed to ask.

“Yeah, and since we don’t know how many of them are there, we need to get out of here. Now!”

Tani nodded and finally got her legs to work. She turned to look out of the window, afraid of what she might see but too scared not to find out. Before she could look, Tony mentioning her name made her turn her head.

“Tani?”

Tani looked down and saw the blood leaking from Tony’s chest. His hands were coated in red as he pressed against the wound. As she reached for him, his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed against her.


	6. Chapter 6

**McGarrett’s home: 1 Month later**

“Easy,” Steve cautioned as he helped Tony step into the house.

“You do realize I can walk?” Tony glared at him as he slowly made his way over to what appeared to be a very comfortable couch.

Steve ignored the other man as he gently lowered him to the couch. He leaned in and before Tony could speak up again, he kissed him hard. He continued the kiss until both men had to come up for air. He grinned when he saw how swollen Tony’s lips looked. “That’s a good look on you,” he commented as he moved away from the couch. “Going to get us some water, don’t move.”

“Mmm,” Tony didn’t have the energy to respond with words. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he appreciated the fact that Steve helped him into the house. He looked around as he heard Steve moving around deeper in the house. Tony recognized the place where he fell after he got shot and managed to get into Steve’s house. He didn’t want to die on that day, but he hoped that if he did, Steve would at least start asking questions. There was no doubt in his mind that Steve would’ve found the people responsible and made them pay for their actions. His hands drifted to the wounds that decorated his body. He pressed down on the scar on his chest and hissed out in pain. He continued pressing down on it.

“Hey, none of that.” Steve took Tony’s hand in his and pulled it away.

Tony looked up and frowned. “Sorry.” He had zoned out again. Something that continued to happen since he woke up in hospital for the second time.

“Nothing to be sorry about.” Steve squeezed Tony’s hand before he brought it up to his mouth and kissed him on the knuckles. He handed Tony a bottle of water and uncapped his own. He took a deep swallow of the ice-cold liquid and sighed.

Tony grinned. “You still love your ice cold water.”

“Yeah.” Steve shrugged. “Being deployed in an arid environment made me appreciate cold water even more. I don’t think I’ll ever give it up.”

Tony remained silent.

Steve sighed, closed his eyes for a second and then stood up. “Come, I want to show you something.”

“I thought we could just stay here for the rest of the day,” Tony replied even as he pushed himself to his feet.

“You’ll like what I have to show you, I promise.” Steve took Tony’s hand and together the two men walked through the house to the back.

When they stepped out of the sliding door, Tony came to a halt and looked at the view that greeted him. When he first came to Steve’s house, he never got the chance to enjoy the view. “It’s breathtaking.” The green grass sloped down to the beach where the waves spilled lazily onto the sand.

“And you’ll love this even more.” Steve guided Tony towards the side of the house. He came to a stop in front of a large hammock.

“Bloody hell, this is going to be awesome.” Tony reached out and touched the hammock. It was large enough for both of them and had several scatter cushions that would make lying down even more comfortable.

“Let me get in first. I need to hold you,” Steve kicked off his shoes as he sat down on the side of the hammock and then swung his legs over. He made himself comfortable and opened his arms. “Right here.”

Tony gave him a shy smile as he toed off his own shoes and then gently got on the hammock. Both men shifted a few times to get comfortable before they settled down. Steve had several cushions beneath his head so that he could look out at the ocean while Tony laid with his head on his chest.

“You all right?”

Tony remained silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke up. “I’m getting there.”

Steve placed his hand over Tony’s when he realized Tony pressed down on the wound again. “You’re safe.” He whispered the words and felt the man in his arms relax.

“It keeps me in the present.” Tony finally broke the silence that settled around them.

Steve nodded. He knew Tony suffered from PTSD. He knew the signs. Dealt with it himself. He knew Junior also dealt with it. “I understand.”

Tony growled out of frustration. “How can you be so understanding! Why haven’t you demanded answers!” He tried to move away from Steve but quickly realized that the man wasn’t going to let him go.

“Because I know you’ll talk to me when you’re ready. And I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

Tony snorted and shook his head. “You don’t know what I had to do. What I did on a daily basis. If you knew, you wouldn’t say you love me. You’ll hate me.”

“I can never hate you,” Steve whispered as he held Tony tight.

Tony closed his eyes. “He's still out there.”

“We’ll find him. He will never lay a finger on you again.” Steve’s voice was filled with venom.

What happened at the hospital was still fresh in his mind. It was a colossal fuckup. But in the end, it could’ve been worse. He still blamed himself for Tony getting shot again, but Danny, Joe and the rest of the team made sure he understood that he’d done nothing wrong. He’d realized too late that the man he’d passed at the elevator was Phillip Evans. When he pulled his firearm, people panicked, and the security stormed him. He had to show them his credentials. By that time the hospital alarms had been set off and the doors locked.

However, there was a glitch in the system and the fire doors also locked. It had cost him valuable time to get up to Tony’s floor and by that time it was too late. Not only did Tony manage to shoot Evans and got shot himself in the process, but Tani had managed to take out Adam Storm as he was about to execute Junior. The only one they managed to take alive that day was Michael Feast. He was pretty banged up. Suffered from a grade three concussion. Had a shattered cheekbone and a dislocated jaw. Brand had gotten away.

Tony had managed to jump on and shield Tani with his body when Evan’s came in the room, gun blazing. His first shot went wild, while his second one got Tony in the chest. The bullet had hit the breast bone, shattered it and went down the right side of his chest and exited near his lower abdomen. Miraculously the bullet wound caused no major damage, except for the shattered breast bone. Tony had suffered from severe blood loss and had an infection that he had to battle with due to be shot the first time around.

They had interrogated Feast for more than two days before he finally cracked and told them what he knew. The details he gave on what Brand and the rest of them had done had made Steve want to puke. He’d given them safe houses where Brand might go to. He’d given up the different alias’ Brand might use but even with that intel, the man stayed in the wind.

It was Feast who told them how they lured Tony into a trap and how he got sold in Afghanistan. He told them how Brand operated a human trafficking ring while he was still the Commander of Dwyer base. Told them of the millions they made by selling young boys and girls to greedy buyers. Every now and again they would sell an armed forces member as well. No one ever reached the price that Tony did. It was in that time that Brand came to realize that Tony was still alive. He became obsessed with Tony and had managed to buy him back from the original buyer two years after Tony was supposedly killed in that IED.

It was Brand’s idea to hide the bloodied clothing and the hair in a Humvee which he’d made sure would get blown up as he knew the insurgents had placed IEDs on that road. He knew that Steve would continue to look for Tony if the man didn’t come back from his last mission. And he couldn’t have that.

Feast told them that after Brand bought Tony back from the original buyer in 2016, he had taken him to Kosovo. The tiny European country had several political issues, but no questions were asked and since they wanted and needed capital, they welcomed people into the community who boosted the economy. One of them was Marcus Brand. With his black-market dealings, he’d made a fortune and had millions of dollars in offshore accounts.

It wasn’t easy to hear why Brand had Tony. He’d sexually abused the MI6 agent for the past four years while he continued to broker deals between influential rich buyers and human traffickers. He’d showcase Tony as his _pet_ although he never allowed anyone else to touch his property.

The international alphabet agencies, including Interpol, MI6, CIA were all enraged when they learned about the trafficking ring in the small country. The Kosovo government has given their full cooperation with Interpol in shutting down the ring and capturing the players.

“You okay?” Tony asked when Steve stayed quiet for too long.

Steve rested his chin on Tony’s head. “I didn’t look for you.”

Tony closed his eyes. That first two years while he was held captive he’d tried to escape at least once a week. His owner found it extremely funny. But not in the ha-ha way. He would laugh while he’d beat the shit out of Tony. He would throw him in a dugout hole in the middle of the compound, deep enough that even if he stood up, he couldn’t see out of the hole. It was so narrow that Tony couldn’t sit down in it and he had to stand the whole time. They would leave him there for a whole day, or sometimes they would throw him in the hole when it was subzero temperatures outside and leave there. He wasn’t sexually abused in those two years; it was all about the fact that his owner had an American in his possession which he could humiliate on a daily basis. Tony had stopped trying to explain to the man that he wasn’t American, that he was British. The answer he got still baffled him. He was white; therefore, he was American. And since he was an American, he was an infidel.

Tony had continued to try and escape because he believed Steve and Harry were looking for him. He wouldn’t give up. Only when he saw Brand for the first time and learned he was the man who’d sold him in the first place, did he come to realize that no one was looking for him. He could still see the glee on Brand’s face when he told Tony how he’d gotten Tony’s torn up clothes with his blood on the Humvee and that it was enough for Steve and Harry to believe that he was dead. No one was looking for him.

“When Brand bought me back, I made up this story in my head that he was undercover. That he was really there to save me and to bring me home.” Tony reached for Steve’s hand. “I soon realized that wasn’t the case.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you the rest. Not now.” He shivered.

Steve squeezed Tony’s hand in support.

“Can you tell me how you escaped?”

Tony snorted. “I now also speak Albanian.”

“Impressive.” Steve knew Tony was fluent in Pashto, Spanish, Italian, French and German.

“It is.” Tony cracked a smile. “Brand believed he had alienated me from everything that was important to me when I finally stopped fighting him.” He looked up at Steve. “You have to understand, I had to. I didn’t want it. I HATED every second.”

Steve nodded. “You survived. That’s the most important thing.”

Tony took in the scenery around them. “I never thought that I’d be lying in a hammock with my husband staring out over the ocean.”

“I dreamed of this very picture often.”

Tony cleared his throat. He wouldn’t tell Steve that he’d stopped dreaming a very long time ago. That the only dreams he had now were nightmares.

“Ready to tell me how you got away?” Steve prompted.

“After I started _obeying_ Brand’s every order, he started giving me more leeway. I still couldn’t leave the house, but I got to interact with the help he’d employed to clean and cook.”

“That’s where you picked up the Albanian.”

“Yes. The woman that cleaned was called Nesila. Her husband was the grounds keeper. His name was Shefket. They were an elderly couple, stayed one town over and worked at Brand’s place three times a week. In the beginning they didn’t want to talk to me. But slowly I built a report with Nesila and then with Shefket.”

Tony grasped Steve’s hand. “One day Brand was furious over something and he took it out on me. Viciously.” Tony took a deep breath. “Nesila saw us. He didn’t see her, but I did. She left. After Brand did what he did so fucking often, he left. I couldn’t get up and I must’ve passed out, because when I came to Nesila and Shefket were at my side. They had cleaned me, treated my injuries and put me to bed. I couldn’t look them in the eye. Then a few days later, Nesila and I were busy cleaning vegetables for dinner when she spoke up. She told me they had a friend from Macedonia who’d be staying over for a couple of days. He was on his way to Greece and he had space for one more traveler.”

Tony snorted. “I’d become violently ill at the mere idea of leaving. I couldn’t fathom the idea of getting away. It doesn’t matter that it was the thing I’ve wanted from day one. Nesila took me in her arms and told me that everything will be okay. She gave me the strength I lacked. She and Shefket arranged everything. Luck was also on our side as Brand had left for business and although I had no idea on when he’d return, we didn’t need days to plan this.”

“They introduced me to Kiro Atsev. He had no qualms in taking me, and by taking me, I mean smuggling me into Greece. I made Nesila and Shefket promise me that they will go away. I knew if Brand found out that I’m gone, he would suspect their involvement and he would kill them.” A single tear escaped from his eye and travelled down his cheek.

“They didn’t leave.” Steve stated.

“Not in time. I got away with Kiro’s help and ended up in Greece. Nesila gave me her cell number and I had to phone her when I was safe. Brand answered. He knew it was me and he told me he would find me and bring me back. I belonged to him and had no right to leave. I could hear both Nesila and Shefket pleading in the background. There were two gunshots and then he told me their blood was on my hands.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” Steve tightened his arms around Tony’s body.

Tony remained silent for a few minutes before he continued. “In Greece I made contact with a forger I had used once or twice before. She has an immense talent and Yanna made my Italian passport.”

“The one we found at the cottage in Kauai?”

Tony nodded.

“That is impressive work. If it wasn’t for the fact that the names in that passport were fake, I wouldn’t have suspected it to be fake.” They also found a lot of other documents, including several sketches but Steve knew now was not the time to ask Tony about those. “What happened next?”

“I went underground because I knew before Brand killed Nesila and Shefket he would’ve tortured them. He would’ve gotten Kiro’s name and he would’ve found Kiro. Luckily Kiro had no knowledge of Yanna so she was safe.”

“He found Kiro?”

“Yeah. But I only learned about that when I was in Italy. By that time, it was too late to do anything about it. Except to pile more guilt on my shoulders. Three innocent people had died because of me.”

“No, Tony. They didn’t die because of you. Brand killed them because he’s a cold-blooded killer. Their deaths are not on you.”

Tony remained silent.

“One day you’ll believe it.”

“I hope so.” Tony sighed again. “When I got to Italy, I started looking for you. I couldn’t find you.”

“I'd left the Navy.”

“You did. I did a search and found a six-year-old article on the internet about the newly formed taskforce on Hawaii. From there it was easy to establish that you were still here on the island.”

“You found me.” Steve grinned.

“And Brand found me.” Tony breathed hard. “I never even thought that he’d be waiting here for me to show up. I was so tired at that stage, if I thought straight for one second, I would’ve realized that is what he would’ve done. But I believed that I was in the clear. I was wrong and he nearly killed me - again.”

“You survived, that’s the most important thing.”

“I have to find Markus Brand, Steve. I will not be able to get past what has happened to me, if I can’t find him. I have to stop him. I have to stop people like him.”

“I will help you, Tony. You will not do this alone. I promise.” Steve held his husband close as they looked at the ocean and found peace in each other’s arms.


	7. Epilogue

**2 Months later: Paddington Estate, Somerset, England**

“Yeah, Danny, I’ll tell him.” Steve grinned as Tony entered the large study. “Send my love to everyone and take care of yourself, Danno.” Steve ended the call and leaned with his hip against the desk.

“Everything okay?” Tony inquired as he slipped into his husband’s arms. They were ten hours ahead in time. For Steve to talk to Danny so late meant that something was wrong.

“The team uncovered a large opium ring and took some heavy fire.”

“They all right?” Tony asked worried.

“Danny took a bullet to the vest. Suffered some bruises but he’ll be fine. Lou took a bullet through the shoulder. He just came out of surgery. According to the doctor he’ll make a full recovery.”

“The rest? Adam, Tani, Junior?”

“Some scrapes and bumps but nothing serious. They made the bust,” Steve explained as he lowered his head to take Tony’s mouth with his. They shared a lingering kiss.

They had been in England for the past month. Tony’s recovery was still ongoing and physically he was doing great. Mentally he had some good days but unfortunately, also some bad ones. They had yet to be intimate but spent many hours making out like teenagers. Steve didn’t mind. He would take it as slow as what Tony wanted, just as long as they were together

It hadn’t been a difficult decision to accompany Tony back to England when Tony told him he needed to go home. Steve still smiled every time Tony described this enormous castle as home. It had towers, a drawbridge and even a moat; although that was empty. There was even a small chapel which Tony’s uncle had converted into a music room. A room that Tony had used often since they had returned. Steve would sit and listen for hours as Tony played the grand piano that stood in the center of the room.

The sounds of approaching footsteps made Steve glance up. When Tony wanted to withdraw from his embrace, Steve held him tighter. He smiled when Harry came into the study.

“Am I interrupting?” Harry asked.

Tony shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Good. I’ve got news.” Harry stepped into the room, took out a cigarette and lighted it up.

“Those things will kill you,” Steve said as he coughed.

“We all have to die of something.” Harry grinned.

“Not to interrupt this tantalizing conversation on what will, or, can kill you, but can we please move on? You’ve got news?” Tony mock-glared at Steve.

“Yes, I do apologize.” Harry stumped out the cigarette and pointed to the wall that was covered in books from the floor to the ceiling. “May I?”

Tony nodded. He watched as Harry walked to the side wall, pressed his hand down on a palm plate and the bookcases slid open. Harry stepped inside and Tony together with Steve followed him in. The bookcases slid closed behind them with a mere whisper.

The room before him had an enormous screen. Several computers lined the one wall and in the middle was a console similar to what the task team in Hawaii had. With a single tap the console lit up.

Steve led Tony to some comfortable looking leather chairs, sat down on one and pulled Tony down on his lap.

“Really?” Tony grinned as he rolled his eyes. He made no attempt to get up from Steve’s lap to sit down on another chair.

Steve shrugged. “I like having you close by.”

Tony smiled softly. He turned to face his old friend. “What did you find?”

“This.” Harry brought an image up on the screen.

Tony tensed on Steve’s lap, and Steve took Tony’s hand in his.

“That’s Luigi Grandi.” Tony identified the man. He was one of many men Brand had dealt with and who Tony had made sketches of. He knew some of their names from his dealings as an MI6 agent, others he learned when he, together with Steve and Harry went through all of the documents he brought with him. Grandi was a General in the Carabinieri, the Italian police force. When Interpol started sniffing, Grandi, together with others disappeared. It was also because of people like him, that Tony didn’t contact the authorities when he escaped. He didn’t know who he could trust.

Harry nodded. “He was spotted in Èze, in the French Riviera about two hours ago. I have a man following him.”

Tony pushed himself off Steve. “He and Brand were close.” He shuddered at the thought. Although Brad didn’t share him, he still didn’t mind people (especially Grandi) watching as he fucked Tony. The Italian got off on seeing that.

Steve stood up and placed his hands on Tony’s shoulders. His gaze was on Harry when he spoke. “He would know where Brand is.”

Harry nodded. “I believe so.”

Both men looked at Tony.

“Get the jet fueled, we can be there in under five hours,” Tony responded. His hands were balled into fists.

“Roger that.” Harry took out his phone and made a call.

Steve turned Tony so that he could look at his face. “You ready for this?”

Tony leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Steve’s. “I made a promise to myself that I will hunt every one of those bastards down until there are none of them left. I am not backing out now.”

“Good.” Steve lifted Tony’s chin and kissed him. “Let’s go hunting.”

**The End**


End file.
